Yorkshire Water Price Increase (6.1%?)

[biotechpete]

I have just seen on the BBC that the average bill increase in the Yorkshire Water region is 6.1%. This is the third highest rise of any water company in the country.

 

Other regions increasing by large amounts, for example Southern and Thames regions are due to massive investment in infrastrucute to support a booming population.

 

I know that representatives from Yorkshire Water are present on the forum so perhaps they could explain what justifies this HUGE increase.

[ChrisT70]

its to pay the wages of their PR team to constantly post crap and send literature out telling you how good they are and how much they are improving. nothing to do with bonus payments to shareholders and directors obviously tho.

[Kadogo]

Fill your immersion heater with Evian - as the water companies laugh.

[BarryRiley]

They posted here last time they had news about their prices. Hmm, strange they didn't do it this time

[charliewag]

it's about time a council tax type banding system was brought in for water rates instead of the old fashioned rateable value of the property. i live in a 3 bed semi, my friend has an old 3 bed terrace. 2 adults and 2 children in each property so the water usage will be about the same yet his water rates are 45% of what i pay.

[biotechpete]

it's about time a council tax type banding system was brought in for water rates instead of the old fashioned rateable value of the property. i live in a 3 bed semi, my friend has an old 3 bed terrace. 2 adults and 2 children in each property so the water usage will be about the same yet his water rates are 45% of what i pay.

 

I see no reason why the prinicpal of 'from each according to his means' shouldn't apply. Perhaps some modernisation wouldn't go amis, but I suspect that your council tax is also more than that of your friend, and it's a poor model to work from given the relatively small differences between the bands.

 

Also, I would think that on the whole, the occupants of a 3 bed semi would use more water than those in a terrace. For instace, presuambaly, a drive and garage make it more likely that an occupant of a semi might wash his car more often. The gardens also tend to be larger so watering of plants etc has to be taken into account.

 

Anyway my OP was about how YW can justify the rise of 6.1%. Londoners are getting billions of investment in this and in Essex they are also seeing a return for their above inflation increases.

 

So come on Yorks Water, what's your excuse?

[shadow]

it's about time a council tax type banding system was brought in for water rates instead of the old fashioned rateable value of the property. i live in a 3 bed semi, my friend has an old 3 bed terrace. 2 adults and 2 children in each property so the water usage will be about the same yet his water rates are 45% of what i pay.

 

Have you thought about a water meter? Our bill is half what it was compared to the one we would get calculated from rateable value of the property (2 adults, 3 kids).

[Darth Vader]

Disgusting. How are they expecting people to fund this? Our wages haven't gone up by 6.1%. What's the director's increase this year?

[Kadogo]

The Government sells off the Crown Jewels, like water and other utility companies, and buys failures like Royal Bank of Scotland and LLoyds TSB.

[YorksWater]

The increase in bills is largely down to inflation and means that Yorkshire Water’s customers will be paying about an extra £1.75 per month in 2012/13. The increase will help fund our ongoing investment programme and the good news is that South Yorkshire (and Sheffield in particular!) will benefit enormously from this.

 

For example, over the next three years we will be investing about £78 million at Blackburn Meadows Waste Water Treatment Works opposite Meadowhall that will deliver significant improvements to the quality of the River Don. We’re working in partnership with the Environment Agency, the Sheffield-based River Stewardship Company and the Don Catchment Rivers Trust.

 

We’re also investing tens of millions at other waste water treatment works like Woodhouse Mill at Rotherham and Old Whittington in Chesterfield.

 

On top of that we’re currently £14 million to improve Rivelin Water Treatment Works, where new treatment processes are being installed to protect customers’ drinking water supplies. This will benefit more than 100,000 homes.

 

Whilst we appreciate that this is coming at a difficult time for many people this increase will help us deliver significant benefits for the local environment.

 

If you have genuine concerns about how you might be able to afford the increase we may be able to assist you.